Okay, so the latest issue of Augur is...big! Having just covered the first half of it, I would probably have waited to tackle the second half until next month. But as this is my last month doing these kinds of reviews, I’m going for it. Three short stories, four poems, and a graphic story all round out the issue, and it continues to be a complex and at times fairly grim collection. Like the first half, there are themes of loss and cultural destruction, the pressures of capitalism and colonialism. But there’s still some hope, and even a bit of fun, and I appreciate the varied ways the issue treats trauma and the decision to make change, to act in the face of corruption. There’s a lot to get to, so let’s get to the reviews!
I have been eagerly dreading the end of December for a number of reasons. Both because of the change it will bring and because I was suspecting that the year that kept on giving wasn’t going to give up without one last go. And I’m pleased to say I was right, as there are a few big releases that I probably would have broken up over a few months that I’m not going to do my best to fit in immediately. First out of the gate is Augur, with an absolutely packed issue featuring seven stories, eight poems, and a graphic story. That’s a lot, and I’m covering the first half of the issue today. It’s...well, it something of a heavy bunch of works, focusing rather sharply on loss, on conflict, on climate change, on cultural destruction. It’s not an easy issue to read, but it is an easy issue to like, and there’s tons of great works that I will get right to reviewing!
And here I am a day later finishing up my reviews of the latest (really big) issue of Augur Magazine. This one has something of a treat, too, because on top of the two short stories and two poems, there’s a graphic story as well, which brings some vivid colors and imagery to look at in all it’s pretty while maintaining that feeling of complex and careful work within SFF. The stories are strong, atmospheric, moody, and creepy at times. The poems are alive with movement and defiance. And the graphic story brings it all home, closing out the issue with a thought on cycles, a fitting end for a publication that will, after all, be out with a new issue in due time. So there is no real end, no real beginning, but it’s all pretty great all the same. To the reviews!
More Augur Magazine! Having tackled six SFF works last time, my next installments will cover 5 each. This one takes on two new short stories and three new poems, for works that take on some unsettling and difficult themes but still know how to inspire, challenge, and entertain. The stories tend toward the grimmer side of the works, drawing situations of familial loss, where women are put in situations of having to face old injustices, old wounds, all the while opening news ones. For all the works tend toward bleak, though, I think both do leave room for hope, but a hope that needs to be worked for, that isn’t necessarily going to be easy. And the poetry is a lovely mix of moods and tunes, forms and patterns. But it makes for a continuation on a wonderful issue, and I’ll get right to my reviews!
Finally I’m getting to the end of my initial reviews of things released on the last day of September. There will definitely be spillover into at least next month, but today I’m looking at the first part of the extra-huge latest issue of Augur Magazine, which has been quiet on the release front since December. They make up for the absence with 16 different pieces, spread over fiction, poetry, and graphic fiction. Today I’m looking at the first three stories and three poems, which build up a rather grim thematic feel centering loss and grief. With characters who are imprisoned in various ways, either literally or more metaphorically. It’s not an easy bunch of works to approach, and readers will do well to mind the various content warnings posted before the stories. But it’s a beautiful start to what is shaping up to be a fantastic issue, and I’ll jump right into my reviews!
A new Augur is out! And while I would normally break up the issue into two parts to spread out my reviews, I don’t want to push off 2019 reviews deeper into 2020. So I’m just looking at the whole thing today (and then taking tomorrow off)! And it is a dense and at times harrowing read, full of hurt and hope, beauty and pain. It features people trying to make sense of grief, and loss, trying to figure out where they went wrong, even when there was no way they could have done better. The stories loop around relationships, around characters trying to connect to one another and finding that at times an impossible task. But sometimes managing it all the same. It’s a wonderful issue, and a great way to cap off my 2019 reviews, so let’s get right to it!
I finish up my look at the latest issue of Augur Magazine today, which includes another story, a graphic story, and two more poems. And because of the kind of weird way I organize things, the story (which appears first) was actually the last piece in the issue, while everything else ran in the order it’s listed. And it’s a rather wonderful collection of work, definitely dark and definitely playing with structure and form in some interesting ways. The story and graphic story also evoke fairy tales and resonate quite well together, and throughout there is just this emphasis I feel is put on twisting out of restrictive expectations and roles, and breaking restrictive narrative forms and tropes. These are careful and not always about an unqualified happily ever after, but still feature people freeing themselves from heavy burdens, if only imperfectly. To the reviews!
It’s a month of me adding some publications to my regular rotation, and (as voted in by my patrons), that includes Augur Magazine! It’s in its second year of publication and is a Canadian magazine specializing in SFF short fiction and poetry! I personally love venues that do both fiction and poetry so that’s extra awesome! I’m going to be breaking the issue up into two parts, though, in order to not bury myself in work (and to help me fill up some space in my rotation). The first half of the issue is strong and rather dark, filled with intense yearning as well as broken systems that often leave people vulnerable and without support. But there’s hope to these pieces, as well, that these characters can survive regardless, and find ways to help each other, and achieve compassion and community, even if it’s with just one other person. It’s a beautiful collection of works, and I’ll get right to my reviews!
